Edge folding apparatus



June 1957 L. 5. FREEMAN; JR 3,323,156

" EDGE FOLDING APPARATUS Filed July 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORLOUIS G. FREEMAN,J$Z.,

June 1967 L.. G. FREEMAN, JR 3,323,156

EDGE FOLDING APPARATUS Filed July 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet t Fig.1] Z2INVENTOR. Lows G. FREEMAN, J2.,

MTTOHNEVS.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,323,155 Patented June 6, 1967 3,323,156EDGE FOLDING APPARATUS Louis G. Freeman, In, The Louis G. FreemanCompany, 1819 Freeman Ava, Gincinnati, Ghio 45214 Filed July 25 1965,Ser. No. 47s,es1 7 Claims. ((11. 12-55) This invention relates toapparatus used primarily in the shoe industry for folding the edges of acut-out, as where the vamp of a ladys shoe is provided with a relativelysmall cut-out in the area of the throat. Where such cut-outs areprovided, the margins of the work piece surrounding the cut-outs aredoubled back to form a finished edge, a suitable bonding adhesive orcement being first applied to the areas to be doubled back or the areasagainst which the doubled back portions to be juxtaposed so that theparts will be secured together in the folded condition. Often astiffening element, such as stiff paper or similar material, is cementedto the Work piece before the margins are folded the positioning of thestiffener being such that the marginal areas will be folding about theedges of the stiffener and will be cemented to the exposed surfacethereof,

The instant invention relates to apparatus particularly designed to foldthe inside edge portions of a cut-out formed in a work piece, such as ashoe vamp, the marginal edge portions being folded and secured by thecoaction of upper and lower die members during a single stroke pressoperation.

A principal object of the instant invention is the provision of edgefolding apparatus comprising coacting upper and lower die assemblies,the lower die assembly having a spring biased die member displaceablevertically upon contact therewith by the die member of the upper dieassembly which is operatively connected to the plunger of a conventionalbench type cut-out machine of the character employed in the shoemanufacturing plant to perform a variety of cutting operations.

A further object of the instant invention is the provision of apparatusof the character described wherein a masking plate overlies the lowerdie assembly, the masking plate being hinged to the lower die assemblyfor movement from an open to a closed position, the masking plateadditionally incorporating a sliding gauge plate which, when inoperative position, serves to initially fit the cutout in the work pieceabout the lower die element, whereupon the gauge plate is moved to itsinoperative position prior to the press operation.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of apparatus ofthe character described which is of simplified construction and easilymanipulated by the operator, the sliding gauge plate serving to enablethe operator to easily and quickly position the work piece relative tothe lower die member, while at the same time assuring proper alignmentand positioning of the marginal edge portions which are to be folded.The foregoing together with other objects to the invention which willappear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker inthe art upon reading this specification, are accomplished by thatconstruction and arrangement of parts of which an exemplary embodimentshall now be described.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a shoe vamp having a cut-out the edges ofwhich are to be folded.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the lower die member,with the initial position of the work piece illustrated in dotted lines.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the lowerdie showing the work piece as initially positioned relative to thegauging head.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the upperdie member.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the upper die member.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the dies illustratingthe manner in which the gauge plate presses the work piece downwardlyabout the body of the lower die member with the marginal edge portionsdeflect upwardly into contact with the wall surfaces of the lower diemember.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view with parts in section illustratingthe masking plate and sliding gauge plate as the latter contacts theWork piece.

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the lower die assembly with the sliding gaugeplate shown in. the retracted or inoperative position.

FIGURE 9 is a partial plan view similar to FIGURE 8 but illustrating thesliding gauge plate and its extended or operative position.

FIGURE 10 is an elevational view similar to FIG- URE 6 but illustratesthe positioning of the parts at the commencement of the press operation.

FIGURE 11 is also an elevational view similar to FIG- URE 6 butillustrates the position of the parts at the bottom of the stroke of theupper die member.

Briefly, in the practice of the invention upper and lower die assembliesare provided, the upper die assembly comprising a mounting plate adaptedto be secured to the plunger of a conventional bench type cut-outmachine having a fixed base and an overlying reciprocating plungerwhich, upon actuation, moves the upper die assembly downwardly intocontact with the lower die assembly and the work piece, whereupon theupper die assembly is returned to its starting position. The lower dieassembly comprises a base plate which supports a subplate spacedupwardly from the base plate, the subplate serving as a mounting meansfor the hinged mask plate and the sliding gauge plate mounted thereon.The lower die member projects upwardly through an opening in thesubplate, the lower die member being mounted on a vertically movablesupporting plate having spring means which normally bias the lower diemember to an upper position in which it projects upwardly through theopening in the subplate.

The lower die member is provided at its uppermost end with a gauginghead of the size to fit within the initial cut-out opening in the workpiece, the lower die member having an enlarged shoulder surrounding thegauging head which corresponds in size to the final size of the cut-outopening being formed. The upper die member has a recess in itsundersurface of the size to receive the gauging head when the dies arebrought together, the recess being surrounded by a ledge adapted to seaton the enlarged shoulder of the lower die member. A vertical wallsurface projects upwardly from the outermost extremity of the ledge andterminates in an outwardly flared shoulder which, when the die membersare reciprocated, coacts with the subpl-ate of the lower die assembly tofold the marginal edge portions surrounding the cut-out opening backonto the work piece.

The cut-out in the work piece is adapted to be seated on the gauginghead of the lower most die, whereupon the hinged masking plate islowered with the sliding gauge plate in its forward or operativeposition. The gauge plate has an opening therein of the size to surroundthe lower die member so that, as the plate is brought downwardly overthe work piece, it forces the work piece downwardly around the lower diemember and in so doing the marginal edge portions to be folded arecaused to be bent upwardly so that they lie along the vertical wallsurfaces of the lower die member. When the work piece has been seated onthe subplate of the lower die assembly, the gauge plate is retracted,the work piece being firmly held against the subplate by the underlyingmasking plate which has a somewhat larger opening therein surroundingthe lower die member. Upon actuation of the plunger carrying the upperdie assembly, the die assembly moves downwardly and the upper die memberacts to move the lower die member downwardly through the opening in thesubplate. As the die members move downwardly the upwardly projectingmarginal portions of the work piece come into contact with the flaredshoulder of the upper die which folds them outwardly and juxtaposes themarginal edge portions against the underlying portions of the workpiece, which is supported from beneath on the subplate. Suitableadhesive and/ or a stiffener will have been previously applied to thework piece in the area surrounding the marginal portions to be folded,and under the pressure of the upper die the marginal portions will bepressed into tight contact with the underlying areas of the work piece.Upon subsequent upward movement of the upper die assembly, the operatorthen lifts the masking plate and removes the work piece.

For a detailed description of the invention, reference is now made toFIGURE 1 of the drawing which illustrates a shoe upper or vamp 1 for aladies shoe, the vamp being provided across the throat with a cut-out 2the edges of which are defined by lines of cut demarking marginal edgeportions 3 which are to be infolded and adhered to the inner surface ofthe piece. It is to be understood at the outset that the work pieceillustrated is exemplary only and that the invention will find utilityin conjunction with the formation of a finished edge cut-out in any typeor style of work piece.

The lower die member 4, which is seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, has a gauginghead 5 at its uppermost end of the size to conform to the cut-out 2 inits initial condition, i.e., the size of the cut-out prior to thefolding of the marginal portions 3. An outwardly projecting enlargedshoulder 6 surrounds the gauging head 5, the outermost edge 7 of theenlarged shoulder defining the ultimate outline of the cut-out beingformed, i.e., it corresponds to the base edges of the marginal portions3. The lower die member has a vertical wall surface 8 which alsocorresponds to the ultimate size of the cut-out being formed. The lowerdie member is vertically reciprocable relative to the subplate 9 which,as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter, forms a part of thelower die assembly, the die member 4 projecting upwardly through anopening 10 in the subplate. FIGURE 2 also serves to illustrate themanner in which the work piece, shown in dotted lines, is initiallyassociated with .the lower die member, the operator fitting the cut-out2 around the gauging head 5 with the marginal edge portions 3 seated onthe enlarged shoulder 6.

The upper die member 11 is seen in FIGURES 4 and 5. On its under surfaceit has a ledge 12 of a size to mate with the enlarged shoulder 6 of thelower die member, the ledge surrounding a recess 13 which is dimensionedto receive the gauging head 5 of the lower die when the two dies arebrought together. A vertical wall surface 14 projects upwardly from theoutermost edge of the ledge 12, the wall surface 14 defining acontinuation of the vertical wall surface 8 of the lower die member whenthe two members are brought together. The wall surface 14 terminatesupwardly in an outwardly flared shouler 15 which defines the undersurface of the die body 16.

Referring now .to FIGURE 7, the upper die member 11 is secured to amounting plate 17 having an attachment I plug 18 by means of which theassembly may be secured to the reciprocating plunger of a cut-outmachine. The lower die member 4 is mounted on a movable plate 19underlying subplate 9, the plate 19 being normally urged upwardly bymeans of springs 24) and surrounding guide pins 21 which projectsdownwardly through openings 22 in the base plate 23 and mounting block24 which, as

i will be understood, is fixedly secured to the cut-out machine. Thesubplate 9 is mounted in spaced relation to the base plate 23 by meansof legs 25 and hence is stationary with respect thereto.

With reference to both FIGURES 9 and 10, the subplate 9 mounts a maskingplate 26 which is hingedly connected thereto by means of hinges 27.Wherein the closed position, the masking plate 26 overlies the subplate9 and has an opening 28 therein of size to freely surround the lower diemember 4, the opening 28 being spaced outwardly from the lower diemember by a distance greater than the outermost extent of the body 16 ofthe upper die member so that the outwardly flared shoulder 15 of theupper die may seat against the subplate 9 during the pressing operation.

The masking plate 26 is provided along its opposite side edges with apair of guides 29 and 29a which slidably mount a gauge plate 353slidable in the guide from a rearward or inoperative position, asillustrated in FIGURE 8, to a forward or operative position, asillustrated in FIG- URE 9. The gauge plate 3% is adapted to be movedfrom one position to the other by means of the forwardly projecting arm31 which may also be used by the operator to raise and lower the maskingplate 26. The gauge plate 30 has an opening 32 of a size to surround inclose conformity to the vertical wall surface 8 of the lower die member4 when the gauge is in its forward or operative position.

In using the apparatus, the operator first raises the masking plate 26,which can be readily done since the upper die assembly will be elevatedexcepting during the pressing operation. A work piece is placed over thelower die member with the cut-out surrounding the gauging head 5 of thelower die member in the manner previously described in conjunction withFIGURE 2 of the drawings. While the masking plate is elevated-usually asan incident of raising it-the gauge plate 30 is moved to its forward oroperative position so that, once the work piece has been initiallypositioned on the lower die member, downward movement of the maskingplate will cause the plate to contact the work piece and force itdownwardly. As this takes place, the edges of opening 32 in gauge plate30 will contact the work piece along the base ends of the cut-outportions 3, as will be evident from FIGURE 9, and as the downwardmovement continues the gauge plate will force the work piece downwardlyabout the outermost edge of the enlarged shoulder 6, thereby bending themarginal edge portions 3 upwardly as they slide along the vertical wallsurface 8 of the lower die member. This action can be seen in FIGURE 6which illustrates the action which takes place as the masking plate andgauge plate pass downwardly along the lower die member. When the maskingplate has been seated against the subplate 9, the parts assume thecondition illustrated in FIG- URE 10, whereupon the operator moves thegauge plate 36 rearwardly to its inoperative position, so that portionsof the underlying work piece surrounding the lower die member areexposed through the larger opening 28 in the masking plate 26. Theoperator then actuates the plunger mounting the upper die assembly,whereupon the upper die member 11 moves downwardly into contact with thelower die member 4 and, as the downward movement continues, the upperdie member depresses the lower die member. As the upper die memberapproaches the upturned marginal edge portions 3 of the work piece, theedge portions slide along the vertical wall surface 14 of the upper diemember and are folded outwardly as they are contacted by the outwardlyflared shoulder 15. The marginal edge portions are thus reversely bentwith respect to the underlying work piece and are flattened thereagainstby the shoulder 15 as the parts assume the position as illustrated inFIGURE 11. The upper die assembly then retracts and the parts return totheir initial position. The operator then lifts the masking plate andremoves the work piece by lifting it upwardly from the lower die member.

Modifications may be made without parting from the spirit and purpose ofthe invention, and it is to be understood that the invention is notintended to be limited excepting in the manner set forth in the claimswhich follow.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In apparatus for forming a finished edge cut-out in a work piece, anupper die assembly mounting an upper die member, and a lower dieassembly mounting a lower die member having a gauging head for initiallypositioning a work piece relative to said lower die, said lower die having an enlarged shoulder surrounding the gauging head, the outermostedge of said enlarged shoulder defining the outline of the finishedcut-out, a vertical wall surface extending downwardly from the outermostedge of said en larged shoulder, which vertical wall surface alsodefines the outline of the finished cut-out, said lower die assemblyincluding a subplate having an opening therein of a size to receive saidlower die member, means mounting said lower die member for verticalmovement relative to the opening in said subplate, said mounting meansincluding resilient means normally biasing said lower die memberupwardly so that it projects through the opening in said subplate, theundersurface of said upper die defining a ledge of a size to mate withthe enlarged shoulder of the lower die member when the die members arebrought together, a recess in said ledge of a size to receive saidgauging head, said upper die having a vertical wall surface projectingupwardly from the outermost edge of said ledge, said last named wallsurface also corresponding to the outline of the finished cut-out, thevertical wall surface of the upper die terminating upwardly in anoutwardly flared shoulder adapted, when the dies are displaceddownwardly, to seat against said subplate in an area surrounding theopening therein.

2. The apparatus claimed in claim 1 including means operativelyconnected to said lower die assembly for contacting a work piece fittedover the gauging head of the lower die member with the marginal portionsthereof to be folded seated on said enlarged shoulder and forcing thework piece downwardly along the vertical wall surfaces of said lower diemember, thereby causing the said marginal portions of the work piece tobe folded up wardly.

3. The apparatus claimed in claim 2 wherein said last named meanscomprises a masking plate hingedly connected to said subplate, saidmasking plate mounting a slidable gauge plate having an opening thereinof a size to contact the work piece along the base edges of the saidmarginal edge portions thereof, said gauge plate being movable from anoperative to an inoperative position.

4. The apparatus claimed in claim 3 wherein said masking plate has anopening therein which surrounds said lower die member but is spacedoutwardly therefrom by a distance greater than the cross-sectionaldimensions of the outwardly flared shoulder of said upper die member,whereby the shoulder of said upper die member may seat against saidsubplate when said masking plate is juxtaposed thereto.

5. In apparatus for forming a finished edge cut-out in a work piece, anupper die assembly mounting an upper die member, and a lower dieassembly mounting a lower die member having a gauging head for initiallypositioning the work piece relative to said lower die, said lower diehaving an enlarged shoulder surrounding the gauging head, the outermostedge of said enlarged shoulder defining the outline of the finishedcut-out, a vertical wall surface extending downwardly from the outermostedge of said enlarged shoulder, which vertical wall surface also definesthe outline of the finished cut-out, said lower die assembly including asubplate having an opening therein of a size to receive said lower diemember, a vertically movable mounting plate underlying said subplatemounting said lower die member for vertical movement relative to theopening in said subplate, spring means normally biasing said mountingplate upwardly so that said lower die member projects upwardly throughthe opening in said subplate, the undersurface of said upper diedefining a ledge of a size to mate with the enlarged shoulder of thelower die member when the die members are brought together, a recess insaid ledge of a size to receive said gauging head, said upper die havinga vertical wall surface projecting upwardly from the outermost edgethereof, said last named wall surface also corresponding to the outlineof the finished cut-out, the vertical wall surface of said upper diemember terminating upwardly in an outwardly flared shoulder adapted,when the dies are displaced downwardly, to seat against said subplate inan area surrounding the opening therein, and a masking plate hingedlyconnected to said subplate and movable from an operative position inwhich said masking plate overlies said subplate to an inoperativeposition in which it is elevated with respect to the subplate and saidlower die member so that a work piece may be fitted over the gauginghead of the lower die member, said masking plate ineluding meansoperative to contact a work piece fitted over the gauging head of saidlower die member and force said work piece downwardly about said lowerdie member.

6. The apparatus claimed in claim 5 wherein said last named meanscomprises a sliding plate mounted on said masking plate and movable froma retracted to an extended position, and an opening in said slidingplate of a size to surround the vertical wall surface of said lower diemember when said sliding plate is in its extended position.

7. In apparatus for forming a finished edge cut-out in a work piece,wherein an upper die assembly mounting an upper die member is adapted tobe juxtaposed to a lower die assembly mounting a lower die member havinga gauging head for initially positioning the cut-out in a work piecerelative to said lower die member, said lower die member projectingupwardly through an opening in a subplate and being movable downwardlytherethrough when contacted by the upper die member, the improvementwhich comprises a masking plate assembly for initially fitting the workpiece over said lower die member, said assembly comprising a maskingplate hingedly connected to said subplate and movable from an operativepositon in which said masking plate is juxtaposed to said subplate to aninoperative position in which said masking plate is elevated relative tosaid subplate and said lower die member so that the cut-out in the workpiece may be fitted over the gauging head of said lower die member, asliding gauge plate mounted on said masking plate, said sliding gaugeplate being movable from a retracted to an extended position, an openingin said sliding plate positioned to surround said lower die member whensaid plate is in its extended position, whereby the work piece will becontacted by said gauge plate and forced downwardly over said lower diemember as said masking plate is moved from the inoperative to theoperative position, whereupon said sliding plate may be retracted toexpose underlying portions of the work piece.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,183,088 12/1939 Willis 12-552,881,456 4/1959 Agostino 1255 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

1. IN APPARATUS FOR FORMING A FINISHED EDGE CUT-OUT IN A WORK PIECE, ANUPPER DIE ASSEMBLY MOUNTING AN UPPER DIE MEMBER, AND A LOWER DIEASSEMBLY MOUNTING A LOWER DIE MEMBER HAVING A GAUGING HEAD FOR INITIALLYPOSITIONING A WORK PIECE RELATIVE TO SAID LOWER DIE, SAID LOWER DIEHAVING AN ENLARGED SHOULDER SURROUNDING THE GAUGING HEAD, THE OUTERMOSTEDGE OF SAID ENLARGED SHOULDER DEFINING THE OUTLINE OF THE FINISHEDCUT-OUT, A VERTICAL WALL SURFACE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE OUTERMOSTEDGE OF SAID ENLARGED SHOULDER, WHICH VERTICAL WALL SURFACE ALSO DEFINESTHE OUTLINE OF THE FINISHED CUT-OUT, SAID LOWER DIE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING ASUBPLATE HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN OF A SIZE TO RECEIVE SAID LOWER DIEMEMBER, MEANS MOUNTING SAID LOWER DIE MEMBER FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENTRELATIVE TO THE OPENING IN SAID SUBPLATE, SAID MOUNTING MEANS INCLUDINGRESILIENT MEANS NORMALLY BIASING SAID LOWER DIE MEMBER UPWARDLY SO THATIT PROJECTS THROUGH THE OPENING IN SAID SUBPLATE, THE UNDERSURFACE OFSAID UPPER DIE DEFINING A LEDGE OF A SIZE TO MATE WITH THE ENLARGEDSHOULDER OF THE LOWER DIE MEMBER WHEN THE DIE MEMBERS ARE BROUGHTTOGETHER, A RECESS IN SAID LEDGE OF A SIZE TO RECEIVE SAID GAUGING HEAD,SAID UPPER DIE HAVING A VERTICAL WALL SURFACE PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROMTHE OUTERMOST EDGE OF SAID LEDGE, SAID LAST NAMED WALL SURFACE ALSOCORRESPONDING TO THE OUTLINE OF THE FINISHED CUT-OUT, THE VERTICAL WALLSURFACE OF THE UPPER DIE TERMINATING UPWARDLY IN AN OUTWARDLY FLAREDSHOULDER ADAPTED, WHEN THE DIES ARE DISPLACED DOWNWARDLY, TO SEATAGAINST SAID SUBPLATE IN AN AREA SURROUNDING THE OPENING THEREIN.